This is a great email. In it, we see Bob Malm, never a fan of free speech, try to talk the diocese into doing what he cannot, which is to develop a legal strategy to suppress First-Amendment protected criticism of Bob, the church, and the diocese. Meanwhile, Bob tries to trade on the tragedy in Florida to make his case.
Sounds to me like Bob Malm is right in there with the Donald: The First Amendment only applies to media you deem not to be “fake news.”
“We can’t allow…?” Since when did Bob Malm have authority over free speech rights in Northern Virginia? So what? Next the brown shirts show up at my door? And note how Bob proposes to silence critics other than me via a “proactive strategy.”
Scary stuff, more suited to the Russian Federation or Nazi Germany than to the United States.
